Coffee pod having a flexible microporous or microperforated casing

ABSTRACT

A coffee pod which can be used for machines for preparing and dispensing coffee beverages that comprise at least one extraction chamber, and at least one piston for compacting a predetermined amount of ground coffee inserted into the extraction chamber. The pod includes: a predetermined amount of ground coffee compacted into an aggregate of ground coffee beans, having an outer shape suitable for rolling, and preferably a substantially spherical ball shape; and a filter casing formed of at least one pervious, microporous or microperforated sheet or film, trapping and matching the shape of the compacted coffee aggregate. The sheet or film is flexible, having stretchability properties with an elongation at rupture of at least 30% and an ultimate tensile strength of less than 2,000 N/m, and a thickness of at least 150 μm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a pod for producing coffee beverages byinfusing ground coffee, in particular beverages of “espresso” type, anda method for producing a beverage from said pod in a pressurized coffeemachine.

Priority fields of application of the present invention are thoseconcerning the production of ground coffees and the packaging thereof,and the preparation of coffee beverages from determined quantities ofground coffee(s) packaged in pod form.

A large number of such pods have been described in the literature.

This type of pod is used for producing coffee beverages in pressurizedcoffee machines, by inserting the pod in an extraction chamber in whichsaid pod is optionally de-compacted before being infused with a hotliquid, hot water in particular, the de-compacting intended tofacilitate the passing of the water and the release and solubilizing ofcoffee aromas to extract said aromas therefrom. De-compacting, beforepassing the water for extraction, allows the ensured wetting of theentirety of the coffee aggregate to avoid incomplete extraction.

Pods of compacted ground coffee are known which do not have a casing.The non-use of a casing is economically advantageous but translates ascrumbling of the matter on the surface of the pod during storage orhandling. In addition, when the pod is used in the coffee machine therearise problems of residual deposits of coffee grinds in said extractionchamber, this requiring an additional cleaning operation of theextraction chamber and possibly filters at the output of the liquid fromthe extraction chamber to prevent risks of proliferating mould, cloggingof the output filters of the extraction chamber and risks ofill-functioning and/or of degradation of the coffee machine, or evenpoor quality of the coffee beverage prepared with the following podinserted in a non-cleaned extraction chamber.

A description was given in FR 2 879 175 of pods of compacted groundcoffee wrapped in a casing, trapping and following the contour of acompacted coffee aggregate, formed of a sheet or film of porous,filtering material and hence permeable. This casing has the advantage ofpreventing any crumbling of the aggregate of compacted ground coffeebefore it is inserted in the extraction chamber of the machine, withoutreducing their breaking or crushing capability under the force of thepiston of the coffee machine or preventing the infusion and extractionof coffee aromas to prepare a beverage. However, in this patent, it issought to promote the exploding of said casing into several fragmentsinside the extraction chamber of the coffee machine under the pressureof the piston, so as to improve the homogeneity of the infusing andextracting of the components of the ground coffee contained in the pod.For this purpose a woven or non-woven fibre fabric is used of low gramweight, between 15 and 20 g/m², and preferably having weakened zones ofnarrower thickness and/or having larger perforations or greaterporosity. In practice, in this patent, a food-safe filter paper is usedor a casing formed of a film of woven nylon fibres. These casings cantherefore be torn, having insufficient elasticity to withstand firstlythe deformation resulting from de-compacting and secondly the increasein volume of the pod after it has been moistened for extraction of thecoffee aromas via infusion of the pod by means of a hot liquid.

However, this type of pod with filtering casing which can be torn openstill has the same disadvantages as the pods without a casing withregard to the need for cleaning the extraction chamber which containsthe coffee grinds mixed with fragments of the torn casing of said pod,these having to be evacuated from the extraction chamber towards astorage compartment to allow the preparing of a further beverage in themachine. Since the filter paper or micro-perforated nylon film is notelastically deformable, this material becomes torn giving rise todeposits of coffee grinds in the extraction chamber and on the filters.

A rigid or semi-rigid capsule is known from FR 2 908 970 and WO2008/071878 that is impervious, capable of being pierced to allow theinjection of pressurized water into said capsule through saidperforations, and to allow the infusing of the substance, in particularthe coffee trapped in said capsule, followed by the collection of anaromatized beverage flowing though said perforations. The packagingcasing is initially fully watertight and airtight, and the capsule withits perforated casing containing the residual block of wet coffee grindsis collected after the liquid has flowed through said casing. This typeof capsule requires the use of a coffee machine equipped with a needlepiercing device and cannot be used in coffee machines not equipped witha device for piercing the casing of the capsule. It is to be pointed outthat the needle piercing device is also scarcely hygienic and is likelyto clog and become difficult to clean.

Additionally, in patent WO 2008/071878, when the capsule comprises acompacted aggregate of coffee, the piercing device of the casing doesnot perform de-compacting, the coffee aggregate remaining compact duringextraction, which does not allow complete extraction or at least optimalextraction of the coffee aromas when water is injected into said casing.

It is the objective of the present invention to provide a novel type ofimproved pod with which it is possible to overcome the disadvantages ofprior embodiments such as mentioned above.

More particularly, one objective of the invention is to provide a noveltype of pod which does not require a specially designed coffee machineto produce a coffee beverage using the sad pod, and which combines theadvantageous properties of protecting the coffee aggregate when it isstored and when in use, and which requires simple, easy cleaning of themachine in which the pod is used to produce a coffee beverage.

More particularly, it is one objective of the present invention toprovide a “universal” pod of ground coffee i.e. which allows thepreparation of coffee beverages using pressurized coffee machines of“fully-automatic” type described in FR 2 879 175.

The present invention more particularly concerns a pod of ground coffeeadapted for preparing coffee and coffee beverages using“fully-automatic” machines of the type described in European patentapplications EP-A-0 948 927 and EP-A-0 948 926, schematicallyillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 appended to the present application, or indocument WO-A-01/91620, and comprising an extraction “group” comprisingan infusion chamber into which a quantity of ground coffee is pouredthen tamped by at least one piston mobile in said infusion chamber, saidpiston being connected to the water heater of the machine and comprisingmeans for injecting hot water through the ground coffee after it hasbeen tamped in the chamber for extraction of the aromas therefrom.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a pod of ground coffeefor machines of the aforementioned type which is able to be producedindustrially at low cost.

Finally, a further objective of the invention is to provide a coffee podwhich is able to be used in said machines without manual operation by auser to place said pod in position in the machine, and which on thecontrary is able to be stored in a reservoir secured to or independentof said machine and inserted automatically from said reservoir into theextraction group of said machine to prepare a coffee, and which is thenautomatically evacuated after infusion of the coffee contained in saidpod.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For this purpose, the present invention provides a coffee pod which canbe used in machines for preparing and dispensing coffee beverages of thetype comprising at least one extraction chamber and at least one pistonto tamp a determined quantity of ground coffee inserted in saidextraction chamber, said pod comprising:

-   -   a determined quantity of compacted ground coffee in the form of        an aggregate of ground coffee beans, whose outer shape is        adapted for rolling and preferably is a substantially        spherically ball shape, and    -   a filtering casing formed of at least one permeable microporous        or micro-perforated sheet or film trapping and following the        contour of said aggregate of compacted coffee,

characterized in that said sheet or film is flexible having stretchproperties with an ultimate elongation (elongation at break) of at least30%, an ultimate tensile strength (tensile strength at break or yieldstrength) of less than 2,000 N/m, and a thickness of at least 150 μm,preferably from 150 to 500 μm.

The pod of the invention is advantageous in that its casing meets thefunction of protection during storage and handling of the pod beforeuse, the function of de-compacting and filtering the ground coffee beansunder the effect of the pressure of the piston of the coffee machine,allowing the infusion and extraction of coffee aromas for preparing abeverage, whilst retaining within it the ground coffee particles afterinfusion via the micro-perforated or microporous structure of thecasing.

Finally, through its solidity and stretch properties, said casing hasthe advantage of allowing the de-compacting of the coffee aggregate itcontains, by changing shape and increasing in volume without tearing.

With said casing it is effectively possible to de-compact said pod bychanging the shape of the pod via compression and allowing the swellingof the moistened pod after injection of pressurized water through thecasing, without the casing becoming torn and hence without spillinggrinds onto the input filters for the hot water and output filters forthe coffee leaving the extraction chamber of the extraction apparatus.

On account of its elasticity, said casing remains moulded against thepod of initially compacted ground coffee and therefore allows bettermaintaining of the initial shape, in particular the initial sphericalshape, of said pod when it is stored or being handled.

Said pod also provides for facilitated ejection of the compacted massthat was de-compacted and swollen after infusion, to outside theextraction chamber. The extraction chamber therefore always remainsclean without any residue of coffee grinds, which avoids theproliferation of bacteria and clogging of the filters possibly leadingto ill-functioning of the extraction system.

Finally the absence of any residue in the extraction apparatus, leftbehind after prior use thereof, additionally allows the guaranteed morehomogenous and more regular quality of extraction of coffee aromas andof taste, and finally provides for an increased mechanical lifetime ofthe extraction device.

The thickness of the casing and its elongation properties of at least30% mean that it is possible, without any risk of rupturing the casingeven if it is formed of two heat-welded sheet or film parts to form avolume, that there is no tearing either at the weld or elsewhere whenthe coffee aggregate is de-compacted and the casing is deformed underthe pressure of a piston in the extraction chamber of a coffee machine;and more especially it allows the casing to continue following thecontour of the surface of the pod mass of coffee grounds after injectionof a pressurized hot liquid into the de-compacted ground coffee, thevolume of the casing increasing up to 30% depending on the conditions ofuse of said coffee machine.

The micropores or microperforations are of suitable size and density toallow the flowing of the aromatized liquid and the retaining of residualcoffee grinds within said casing.

More particularly, the micropores or microperforations of said sheet orsaid film of the casing are smaller than the size of the particles ofground coffee forming said aggregate, and have a mean size of less than0.3 mm, preferably from 100 to 300 μm to retain the particles of coffeegrounds these generally having a mean size of 300 to 500 μm.

The elongation at break and yield strength parameters are measured bystretching the sheet or film with a dynamometer and by measuring theelongation before rupture (ultimate elongation) as per standard NF EN1940 (classification X41-025) and the tensile strength required forrupture (ultimate tensile strength) thereof as per standard NF EN 1941(classification X41-021) or the Inst/MC 203 method.

Said casing does not therefore comprise any weakened zone in the form ofa reduced thickness or additional perforations, in particular in theform of localized reduced thickness or additional perforations. Saidcasing is able to withstand a compressive force at least equal to thepressure applied by a tamping piston inside the extraction chamber of acoffee machine, namely a pressure of 500 to 1,500 kPa, more particularlyfrom 700 to 1,200 kPa.

In one preferred embodiment, said casing has a gram weight of between 20and 50 g/m².

Said casing can be made of a natural or synthetic biodegradablematerial, cast or woven or non-woven, in this latter case comprisingwoven or entangled fibres.

In one first variant of embodiment said casing is formed of a nonwovenmaterial of entangled synthetic fibres, the largest size of said surfacemicropores being 0.15 to 0.30 mm, preferably having air permeability of3,000 to 6,000 l/m²/s under testing using the EDANA 140.2-99/WSP 70.1method (the method used by the European Association of manufacturers ofnonwovens—EDANA) or using the Inst/MC 227 method (the test used by othermanufacturers of nonwovens).

The air permeability test entails measuring the flow rate of air passingthrough a given surface of a sheet of nonwoven material for a definedhead loss between the air input and output, in particular a head loss of100 Pa for a surface of 20 cm².

More particularly, the nonwoven material also has a water permeabilityof 500 to 1,500 l/m²/s under testing as per standard Inst/MC 336 whichentails positioning a column of water above a surface 20 mm in diameterof said nonwoven material, and measuring the time required for a givenquantity of liquid to flow through said surface.

In another variant of embodiment, said casing is formed of a film ofmicro-perforated synthetic plastic material, the largest size of saidmicro-perforations being 0.15 to 0.30 mm and said film having a surfacedensity of perforations of 50 to 250 perforations/cm².

It will be understood that the constituent material of the sheet or saidfilm is a water-insoluble material and is of food-safe quality i.e.acceptable for packaging food compositions and products.

More particularly, the constituent material(s) of said casing are chosenfrom among polyethylene, preferably of HDPE type, polypropylene andpolyester.

More particularly, said casing is formed of a nonwoven material ofpolyester fibres coated with polyethylene.

This bi-component fibre is advantageous since polyethylene has a melttemperature of 150° C., lower than that of polyester which is 182° C.,during heat treatment for heat welding of said casing such as describedbelow, only the polyethylene melts thereby ensuring the function ofbinder between the entangled fibres and between two casing parts or twosemi-casings.

Most particularly, said casing is formed of a film of polyethylene orpolypropylene.

According to another particular characteristic, said casing comprisestwo semi-casings, preferably symmetrical, more preferablysemi-spherical, sealed to each other preferably via heat welding, alongat least one continuous, junction line peripheral to the pod, theconstituent material of said casing having a melt temperature higherthan 100° C.

It will be understood that a melt temperature higher than 100° C. meansthat the material will not be degraded when the pressurized hot liquidis injected to prepare a beverage, into said pod in a coffee machine.

More particularly, said quantity of compacted coffee is 5 to 15 g,preferably 5 to 8 g, and the density of the compacted ground coffeeforming said compacted aggregate is 0.65 to 0.75 kg/dm³, preferably 0.68to 0.72 kg/dm³.

A said quantity of coffee corresponds to the mean quantity of coffeeneeded to prepare a coffee of “espresso” type using a fully automatic,semi-automatic or manual coffee machine.

The density values also correspond to the limit values of density anddiameter at which satisfactory results i.e. at least as good as withnon-compacted ground coffee, were obtained for preparing beverages usingfully automatic, semi-automatic or manual machines, in terms of taste ofthe prepared beverages and functioning of the machine.

Preferably, the pod has an outer shape adapted for rolling, andpreferably a shape comprising at least one rounded position, furtherpreferably a substantially spherical ball shape which facilitatesde-compacting thereof.

More particularly, said pod is of substantially spherical, cylindricalor ovoid shape, preferably spherical and its maximum size is 20 to 40mm, preferably having a diameter of 24 to 34 mm for a spherical pod,further preferably a diameter of 26 to 30 mm for a spherical pod.

The present invention also provides a method for preparing a coffeebeverage using a pod according to the invention, in a coffee machinecomprising an extraction chamber capable of receiving a said pod, and atleast one compression piston and one ejection piston for said pod insidesaid extraction chamber, characterized in that the following successivesteps are performed in which:

1/ said pod is inserted in said extraction chamber of a coffee machine;and

2/ said pod is compressed preferably at a pressure of 500 to 1,500 kPa,inside said extraction chamber by means of said compression piston untilsaid pod is crushed and deformed and said aggregate of compacted groundcontained in said casing coffee is de-compacted, without rupturing saidcasing, and

3/ a determined quantity of water is injected as pressurized hot liquidat a pressure of 2 to 20 bars (200 KPa to 2 MPa), preferably water at atemperature of 85 to 100° C., preferably 86 to 96° C. through saidde-compacted pod, and

4/ a beverage is collected in a suitable recipient containing the aromasof coffee solubilised in said hot liquid, extracted under pressurethrough said pod at step 2/, and

5/ said wet pod, the block of residual wet coffee grinds of differentshape to said initial pod and of greater volume than said initial pod,is evacuated by means of said ejection piston to outside said extractionchamber.

More particularly, an extraction chamber of cylindrical shape is used,of circular cross-section and of slightly larger diameter than thediameter of a spherical pod and at step 2/ deformation of substantiallycylindrical shape of said pod is obtained. And at step 3/ the increasein volume of said pod, deformed further to injection of hot liquid,without rupture of said casing, is made possible by the elongation andstrength properties of said casing.

At step 2/, the de-compacting pressure is in general 700 to 1,200 kPa,corresponding to a force of 50 to 100 kg applied to a circular surface,corresponding to the cross-section of an extraction chamber of diameter30 to 40 mm. It is to be noted that the pressure applied to the pod mustbe sufficient to achieve de-compacting but must not be excessive so asnot to re-compact the pod to a greater density which would harm the goodextraction of the coffee during passing of the water.

At step 3/ a hot liquid is used at a temperature of 86 to 96° C. toobtain optimal extraction of the coffee aromas i.e. under conditions ofmaximum extraction yield without degrading said aromas. The quantity ofliquid injected may vary in relation to the concentration of coffeearomas of the beverage it is sought to obtain.

The de-compacting action at step 2/ is important since a pod that is notde-compacted cannot fully release its aromas by extraction via injectionof water under pressure according to step 3/.

In addition to the foregoing description, a further subject of theinvention is a method for preparing a coffee pod according to theinvention in which, at a first step, a determined quantity ofnon-compacted ground coffee is prepared, then at a second step saidquantity of ground coffee is compacted to form a solid aggregate ofcoffee preferably of rounded shape adapted so that it can be rolled.

Next, at a third step, said solid coffee aggregate is wrapped andtrapped in a casing following the shaped contour of said aggregate, saidcasing preferably being formed of two semi-casings of a flexiblematerial sealed onto each other.

Advantageously, at the second step, the ground coffee is compactedbetween two dies of a mould, preferably symmetrical, until the desireddensity of coffee is obtained, preferably between 0.65 and 0.75 kg/dm³,further preferably between 0.68 and 0.72 kg/dm³.

When said casing surrounding the coffee aggregate is formed of twosemi-casings, these are preferably sealed onto each other by heatwelding along a said junction line.

To improve the productivity of the method, it is possible to performsaid second and third steps thereof simultaneously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent in the light of the description given with reference toFIGS. 1 to 4 which schematically illustrate the different steps of amethod for producing coffee beverages using a pod of the invention, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates the step to insert the pod in an extraction chamberof a pressurized coffee machine,

FIG. 2 illustrates the de-compacting step by compressing the pod with apiston, inside the extraction chamber,

FIG. 3 illustrates the injection step of hot water into the tamped podand percolation, and

FIG. 4 illustrates the step to eject the block of coffee grinds afterpercolation.

EXAMPLE 1

An aggregate of ground coffee of spherical shape was prepared, ofdiameter about 28 mm and weight 7 g, with a density of about 0.7 kg/dm³,using a method known to person skilled in the art and described inparticular in FR 2 875 917.

A casing was prepared intended to cover said spherical pod of compactedcoffee, from a bi-component film of nonwoven fibres marketed by PGI(Polymer Group Inc.)/NORDLYS (France—59270 Bailleul) under the referencePACKLINE 3500 comprising a PET polyester core coated with polyethylene,this film having a gram weight of 35 g/m² and a thickness of 370 μm, ofmean pore size 65 μm over a pore size range of 20 μm to 316 μm, havingan air permeability (also known as “air porosity”) of 4,500 l/m²/s undertesting using the reference method Inst/MC 227 (test also used by themanufacturer and other manufacturers of nonwovens).

This film exhibited mechanical ultimate elongation properties of 45%(direction of the machine) and 80% (perpendicular to the direction ofthe machine) and a yield strength of 90 N/5 cm i.e. 1,800 N/m (directionof the machine) and 40 N/5 cm i.e. 800 N/m (perpendicular to thedirection of the machine) calculated as per standards NF EN 1940 and1941 mentioned above.

The casing was formed by heat sealing two smear-spherical semi-casingsby covering a ball of compacted coffee with two semi-casings and heatsealing at their circular equatorial junction zone 2 ₁ as described inpatent FR 2 875 917.

EXAMPLE 2

A coffee beverage was prepared using a coffee machine 3 such asdescribed in FR 2 879 175 of the type described in EP 948926 andschematically illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4. This machine 3 essentiallycomprises an extraction group comprising an extraction and infusionchamber 4 formed of a cylinder open at one end 4 ₁ and from the bottomof which there extends a tube 4 ₂. Inside said chamber a filteringdevice is positioned comprising a supporting tray 6 on which there restsa perforated grid (not illustrated) allowing the passing of liquid butretaining any particles of ground coffee. The supporting tray 6 on itsperiphery comprises a sealing gasket (not illustrated) in contact withsaid walls 4 ₃ of the chamber 4 and the tray 6, and at least one opening6 a allowing the flowing of liquid coffee from inside the chamber 4towards the tube 4 ₂.

This tube 4 ₂ allows the evacuation of the infused liquid coffee frominside the chamber 4 towards the outside thereof and its dispensing intoa suitable recipient (not illustrated) arranged outside the machineunder the end of the tube 4 ₂.

The opening 4 ₁ of the chamber 4 is positioned in communication with areservoir of coffee pods (not illustrated). When operated by a user, apod 1 is ejected 8 from the reservoir towards the inside of the chamber4. A piston 5 connected to a water heater of the machine via a pipe 5 aand comprising orifices through its bearing surface for diffusing waterfrom the pipe 5 a allows compression to be applied onto the pod 1 toobtain de-compacting thereof as illustrated in FIG. 2. This piston 5 hasa diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the chamber 4and on its periphery comprises a gasket (not illustrated) adapted toobtain a seal between the cylindrical wall of the chamber 4 and thepiston 5 when preparing a coffee and thereby avoid spraying outside thechamber 4 when hot water is injected under pressure at a temperature ofabout 90° C. into the coffee, once the piston 5 has been actuated intranslation inside the chamber 4 to tamp the pod 1 and de-compact theground coffee contained therein with a compression force between 50 and100 kg. At this point, the de-compacted/tamped pod is still dry and isthen of substantially cylindrical shape with a diameter substantiallycorresponding to the inner diameter of the chamber 4 i.e. about 30 mmand of height H₁=17.5 mm.

Next as illustrated in FIG. 3, water is injected under pressure 9through the pipe 5 a to achieve percolation of the coffee when the waterpasses through the micro-perforated or microporous pod. The water isinjected at a pressure that is conventionally between 8 and 12 bars intothe orifices of the piston 5, then through the deformed pod 1 a ofcylindrical shape. Under the effect of the pressure of the waterdiffused through the piston 5, the infused coffee flows 11 through theorifices of the filter and the orifices 6 a of the tray 6 and throughthe tub 4 ₂ towards the recipient outside the machine (not illustrated).

At this point, the block of wet ground coffee grounds, de-compacted andencased, has increased in volume on account of this resumed humidity toreach a shape still substantially cylindrical having a diameter of 30 mmand height of about H₂=20 mm, i.e. compared with the initial sphericalshape an increase in volume of about 21.5% (13.98−11.5=2.48 cm³) and anincrease in the surface of its circular cross-section of about 27%(3.13−2.46=0.67 cm²).

Having regard to the elastic deformation properties of the film havingan ultimate elongation of more than 30%, the casing 2 of the pod is nottorn or degraded by the compacting/percolation process. Elasticdeformation of 30% is sufficient to change from the initial sphericalshape to the final cylindrical shape of larger volume, without ruptureof the casing.

FIG. 4 illustrates the final ejection phase of the block of coffeegrinds in the casing of spherical shape 1 b, the injection means herebeing provided by actuation in translation of said tray 6 and pivotingof a side wall element 7 so as to remove 12 the used pod towards astorage reservoir (not illustrated).

EXAMPLE 3

Spherical balls of aggregates of compacted ground coffee were preparedsuch as defined in Example 1, which were wrapped in a casing made from aperforated film of polyethylene or polypropylene having a thickness of200 to 300 μm, with micro-perforations of 0.15 to 0.25 mm and aperforation density of about 100/cm².

These casings used in a method for preparing coffee such as defined inExample 2 exhibited mechanical ultimate elongation properties and yieldstrength properties conforming to the present invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for preparing a coffee beverageusing a pod comprising: about 5 to 15 g of compacted aggregate of groundcoffee, said compacted aggregate having a density that is about 0.65 to0.75 kg/dm³ and having a spherical shape of about 20 to 40 mm indiameter, and a filtering casing formed of at least one permeable,microporous or micro-perforated sheet or film trapping and following thecontour of and molded against said compacted aggregate of coffee,wherein said sheet or said film is flexible having stretch propertieswith an ultimate elongation of at least 30%, an ultimate tensilestrength of less than 2,000 N/m and a thickness of about 150 to 500 μm;said pod is used in a coffee machine comprising an extraction chambercapable of receiving—said pod and at least one compression piston andone ejection piston for said pod—inside said extraction chamber, saidmethod comprising performance of the following successive steps: 1)inserting said pod into said extraction chamber of a coffee machine, 2)compressing said pod at a pressure of 500 to 1,500 kPa inside saidextraction chamber using said compression piston until said pod iscrushed and deformed and said compacted aggregate of ground coffeecontained in said casing is de-compacted so as to form a de-compactedpod, wherein said easing continues to follow the contour of and ismolded against the compacted aggregate, without rupture of said casing,3) injecting a quantity of hot pressurized water, pressurized to apressure of 2 to 20 bars (200 KPa to 2 MPa), through said de-compactedpod so as to form a wet de-compacted pod, 4) collecting a beverage in asuitable recipient, said beverage containing coffee aromas solubilisedin said hot water, extracted under pressure through said pod at step 2),and 5) evacuating said wet de-compacted pod to outside said extractionchamber using the ejection piston, said wet de-compacted pod having adifferent shape from and a larger volume than that of the pod in step1).
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the water of step 3) is at atemperature of 85 to 100° C.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the waterof step 3) is at a temperature of 86 to 96° C.
 4. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein said casing has a gram weight of between 20 and 50g/m².
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said casing is formedof a nonwoven material of entangled synthetic fibres, the largest sizeof said surface micropores being 0.15 to 0.30 mm.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said casing is formed of a film ofmicroperforated synthetic plastic material, the largest size of saidmicroperforations being 0.15 to 0.30 mm, and said film having a surfacedensity of perforations of 50 to 250 perforations/cm2.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the constituent material(s) of said casingare selected from the group consisting of: polyethylene, polypropylene,polyester and viscose.
 8. The method according to claim 5, wherein saidcasing is formed of a nonwoven material of polyester fibres coated withpolyethylene.
 9. The method according to claim 7, wherein said pod isformed of a film of polyethylene or polypropylene.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said casing comprises two semi-casingssealed onto each other along at least one continuous junction lineperipheral to the pod, the constituent material of said casing having amelt temperature higher than 100° C.
 11. The method according to claim10, wherein said two semi-casings are symmetrical and semi spherical andsealed onto each other by heat welding.
 12. The method according toclaim 1, wherein said quantity of compacted coffee is 5 to 8 g, and thedensity of the compacted ground coffee forming said compacted aggregateis 0.68 to 0.72 kg/dm3.
 13. The method according to claim 1, whereinsaid pod is substantially spherical with a diameter of 24 to 34 mm. 14.The method according to claim 13 said pod has a diameter of 26 to 30 mm.